Unlike the substantial coherent bulk motion in which our local patch of the Cosmos is participating, the amplitude of the random motions around this large scale flow seems to be surprisingly low. Attempts to invoke global explanations to account for this coldness of the local cosmic velocity field have not yet been succesfull. Here we propose a different view on this cosmic dilemma, stressing t...

Temperature-related words such as cold-blooded and hot-headed can be used to describe criminal behavior. Words associated with coldness describe premeditated behavior and words associated with heat describe impulsive behavior. Building on recent research about the close interplay between physical and interpersonal coldness and warmth, we examined in a lab experiment how ambient temperature with...

Many extrasolar planets orbit closely to their parent star. Their existence raises the fundamental problem of loss and gain in their mass. For exoplanet HD209458b, reports on an unusually extended hydrogen corona and a hot layer in the lower atmosphere seem to support the scenario of atmospheric inflation by the strong stellar irradiation. However, difficulties in reconciling evaporation models...

A mutation in the FOXP2 gene has been found to be responsible for the autosomal dominant inheritance of a severe form of speech and language impairment in a family known as KE. We genotyped the FOXP2 mutation for 270 4-year-old children selected for low general language scores from a representative community sample of more than 18,000 children. No language-impaired child had the FOXP2 mutation....

"Warmth" is the most powerful personality trait in social judgment, and attachment theorists have stressed the importance of warm physical contact with caregivers during infancy for healthy relationships in adulthood. Intriguingly, recent research in humans points to the involvement of the insula in the processing of both physical temperature and interpersonal warmth (trust) information. Accord...